The event “Couleurs Maghreb” closed the project “Distrimed 2.0” initiated by CNFCE – Tunisia and its Maghreb Partners and funded by Invest in Med.

This part consisted in a thematic exhibition of the products of 5 selected Maghreb companies. The selection was made by ARDA, host of the event and who is a Belgian company specialized in the distribution of home decoration products imported from all over the world.

This deco products and linens exhibition took place in Brussels from the 6th to 8th of February 2011 at ARDA’s offices. The Participants negotiated with the distributor a representation of their companies until the end of the year for 3 of them : “Art du Jonc” from Tunisia, “Global Access” from Morocco and “Asmosaïque” from Algeria. Regarding the 2 other companies: SemSem (Tunisia) and “Pretty Linge” (Morocco), it was agreed to test the products with ARDA’s network during 2 months only since ARDA is not used to distribute such products.

The exposition was hosted by ARDA inside the Trade mart Brussels under “Interior Days” which are B2B days where professional buyers are invited to discover new collections. It’s also important to mention that ARDA could also order products for its own shops in city center of Brussels.

The Invest in Med programme aims at developing sustainable trade relationships, investments and enterprise partnerships between the two rims of the Mediterranean. Funded at 75% by the European Union over the 2008-2011 period, it is implemented by the MedAlliance consortium, which associates economic development organisations (ANIMA, leader of the programme), CCIs (ASCAME, EUROCHAMBRES), and business federations (BUSINESSMED). The members of these networks, as well as their special partners (UNIDO, GTZ, EPA Euroméditerranée, World Bank, etc.), gather a thousand of economic actors - mobilised through pilot initiatives centered on key Mediterranean promising niches. Each year, a hundred operations associate the 27 countries of the European Union and 9 Mediterranean partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia. www.invest-in-med.eu